How to Use Your French Press as a Randall

In November, I blogged about the Fusion Tower, a metallic, tube-like beer infusing machine being sold for over $50,000. The Fusion Tower is essentially an expensive Randall, which seems to work wonderfully, but the overwhelming response from readers was shock over the price.

The Fusion Tower isn’t really made for homebrewers, but for commercial bars and breweries looking to experiment with flavor. A lot of homebrewers make randalls out of pool filter components and sell them on eBay and Amazon. Dogfish Head also sells one they cleverly call “Randall the Enamel Animal” for $288, which really isn’t too bad. But if you’re looking to experiment with flavor, there’s a way you can do it at home for a minimal cost with a french press coffee maker.

For those of you unfamiliar with a French press, it’s really easy to use, and it makes some phenomenal coffee. You simply place the coffee grounds into the device, add boiling water, let it sit (amount of time depends on the desired strength), and then slowly push down the filter. After that, the coffee is ready to serve.

Personally, I prefer coffee brewed in a French press, but let’s move onto the good stuff – beer.

So, how do you do it? Just like you would with coffee. Place your beer into the press, followed by your desired infusion ingredients, let them sit, and when you’re ready, push down with the filter.

Image courtesy of Draft Magazine

It seems so easy, right? That’s because it is. I haven’t personally tried it, so I can’t speak directly to its effectiveness, but the idea has been around for awhile and many homebrewers are doing it. I definitely think it’s worth a try if you have a press sitting around at home. Even if you don’t, we sell one for just $12.75.

1 Comment

DuudeJuly 25, 2017 @ 10:54am

Problem is you lose a large majority of the carbonation between the time it takes for beer to “infuse” (usually 5-10mins) and when you push the French press down it kills more of the carbonation. It works ok for stouts and beers with less carbonation but not very effective over all.